Our Darkest Hour
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis.
Chapter 1: The Hour Be None
Leon Maxwell was the Howling Commando member Crisis. A powerhouse of a member, the red-eyed man also had unstable precognition. His precognition warned him of bad things happening, but it was sometimes all jumbled up. Usually in graphic nightmares, or black outs, the visions Leon received sometimes were crystal clear, and other times; they were filled with riddles and questions.
This one was, in particular, gruesome, and hard to fathom. Leon was standing in the midst of a giant crater. As he looked about, the sky suddenly darkened above him and rain began to fall. The swordsman saw something come out of from the ground. It was a small bird's skeleton. The skeletal creation then began flying around, gaining flesh and feathers, until it was whole. Then, the fleshy bird began to rot and decay, and chirp in a most haunting and unpleasant tune. Leon looked around again and then, this time, he saw numerous grave stones, seemingly put in his midst. The ground began to shake a little and then, a decaying hand shot forth from the ground. Other hands began to appear and, in moments, the decayed remnants of people had begun to walk the ground. As Leon looked closer, some of the faces began to be familiar and then, he saw it.
One of the decaying zombies came near him and looked right at him. The decaying zombie was him.
And that was when Leon awoke from his nightmare. He sat up, his girlfriend Farrah Willows, the feline acrobat Persiana, was resting in the same bed as he was. She was stirred by his stirring and she looked at him,
"Leon, is there something wrong?"
Crisis wiped the sweat of his brow,
"Yeah. This nightmare I just had. It seemed so…so vivid."
The feral woman got concerned and coiled her arms around his arm,
"What is it? Tell me."
In a few minutes, Leon related everything he had seen in his dream. He then concluded,
"Something is going to be wrong. Life and death are going to lose their meaning. Something that powerful is going to try and control it."
He added,
"It might even control me too."
Farrah shook her head,
"That won't happen, Leon. I promise you that it won't."
She said,
"It's been hard. Losing J'onn to that insane cult from Apokolips."
Leon nodded,
"I know. I'm glad we broke it up and stopped Libra, but Mantis got away."
Farrah smiled,
"You go back to sleep, Leon. Let me keep you warm."
As the two drifted back to sleep, Leon could not help but wonder if it really was a bad dream or a vision of what was to come…
Meanwhile…
J'onn J'onzz.
The Martian Manhunter.
Clark Kent, the alien hero Superman, looked down at the grave stone and shook his head. Libra's flaming spear was meant for him, but J'onn stepped in and took the blow himself. They could not save him in time. The League tried everything, but, the wound was mortal. It was done.
Clark looked down and said,
"Thank you, old friend. You saved my life. I only wish we could have done the same for you."
A lot of other League members had paid their respects to the deceased Martian. Even M'gann M'orzz, the heroine Miss Martian, had stopped by and paid her respects, although she did not know how to in the traditional sense. White Martians were not sentimental when it came to death. Still, she tried to.
M'gann had also met the Man of Steel at the grave stone and silently stood there, staring vacantly at the headstone. Clark looked at her,
"Megan?"
The shape-shifting heroine brushed her hair back and looked at Superman,
"I had to see it for myself, Superman. He really is dead."
Clark nodded silently. M'gann asked,
"Does it ever tire humans?"
The reporter was confused by the statement,
"What do you mean?"
M'gann looked around the cemetery and said,
"Does it ever tire humans that they have to bury their dead so soon after life?"
Superman explained,
"Humans do not have the same lifespan Martians have, M'gann. It can be hard for some to let go of loved ones. But, if we remember what they were like in life, then, they will live on forever."
The alien heroine nodded in understanding,
"I think I understand. But, given all of our friends and family that we have had to bury over the last few years, it seems so…vast."
Clark placed his hand on her shoulder,
"It is, but that doesn't mean we can ever stop. Death is a part of life."
He then asked,
"Where's Connor?"
M'gann shook her head,
"I did not want him to come. I wanted to do this alone."
Clark understood,
"All right. We should be going, I can smell rain coming."
As the two flew away, if they were to look down at the raining grounds, one could hear a sort of low hum. This low hum was actually the resonance of several black lights that seemed to burrow themselves into the ground. These beams of black light then disappeared and one word seemed to expel from the ground,
"RISE!"
Next Chapter:
The ranks of the Black Lantern Corps are revealed as the dead rise from the grave! Stay tuned, fellow readers!